Online Ordering For In-Shop Service

ABSTRACT

Systems and related methods providing for online ordering of menu items from a merchant are discussed herein. Circuitry may be configured to generate an online menu based on menu information stored in a menu database. The menu information may be also configured to facilitate point-of-sale functionality at the merchant, such as by a point-of-sale device. The online menu may be provided to a consumer device. An online order may be received from the consumer device. The circuitry may be configured to process the online order, such as by facilitating a reservation, order preparation, and payment.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/176,793, filed Oct. 31, 2018, which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 13/839,414, filed Mar. 15, 2016 (now U.S. Pat. No.10,147,130), which claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application No.61/706,664, filed Sep. 27, 2012, each incorporated by reference in itsentirety for all purposes.

FIELD

Embodiments of the invention relate, generally, to facilitating aconsumer's ordering of a products provided by a merchant.

BACKGROUND

Merchants, such as restaurants, sometimes make their menus availableonline to anyone having Internet access. Consumers can then view themenus using a computer, smartphone or other networked device, and makedining decisions (e.g., where to dine, what to order, etc.). In thisregard, areas for improving current online systems have been identified.Through applied effort, ingenuity, and innovation, solutions to improvesuch systems have been realized and are described in connection withembodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Systems, methods, and computer readable program code are provided to, ingeneral, improve merchant online ordering, scheduling and promotionalsystems. More specifically, embodiments provided herein may include anonline ordering system that may be implemented to provide consumers anoption for in-restaurant dining.

In some embodiments, a method provides for ordering menu items from arestaurant. The method may include: receiving menu items offered forsale by the restaurant; generating, by a networked processor, menuinformation based on the menu items, wherein the menu information isconfigured to facilitate point-of-sale (sometimes referred to herein as“POS”) functionality at the restaurant; generating an online menuincluding a first set of menu items using the menu information;providing the online menu to a consumer device associated with aconsumer; receiving, from the consumer device, online order dataassociated with an online order indicating at least one item from thefirst set of menu items; and receiving, from a restaurant device (e.g.,a merchant device and/or POS device located at the restaurant),in-restaurant order data associated with the online order indicating atleast a second menu item.

In some embodiments, the method may further include: transmittingpoint-of-sale data indicating the least one item to a merchant device(e.g., the restaurant device); and determining a trigger condition tobegin preparation of the online order.

In some embodiments, the method may further include receiving anindication of a dine-in selection for the online order. As such, thetrigger condition to begin preparation of the online order may be basedon one or more of a location of the consumer device, a reservation timefor the dine-in selection, preparation time of the online order, andsize of the online order.

In some embodiments, the method may further include: prior to receivingthe online order data, associating the consumer with a payment account.For example, before a consumer enters an order, the consumer may beprompted to login and/or otherwise provide identification. As such,customized recommendations may be provided to the consumer. Furthermore,subsequent to an occurrence of the trigger condition, the method mayinclude facilitating a financial transaction using the payment account.

In some embodiments, the method may further include: receiving anadditional order of an additional item subsequent to receiving theonline order data; and associating the additional item with the paymentaccount before facilitating the financial transaction. For example, aconsumer may update an online order. In some embodiments, the consumermay perform the update online and/or via a merchant (e.g., by phone orin person at the restaurant).

In some embodiments, an unpaid amount may be associated with the paymentaccount. For example, a consumer may not be required to provide a formof payment at the merchant. Instead, a meal may be charged to thepayment account. In another example, one or more consumers may share atab, with one or more shares of the tab being paid with one or morepayment accounts.

In some embodiments, the method may further include: associating theonline food order with a plurality of payment accounts; receivingpayment data indicating how to allocate payment amounts among theplurality of payment accounts; and facilitating financial transactionsusing the plurality of payment accounts according to the payment data.For example, the payment data may indicate a ratio for allocating thepayment amounts among the plurality of payment accounts. As such,financial transactions may be facilitated in accordance with the ratio.

In some embodiments, the method may further include: receiving anindication to cancel the online order; and responsive to receiving theindication to cancel the online order, canceling preparation of theonline order. For example, prior to occurrence of the trigger conditionto begin preparation, the trigger condition may be canceled or otherwisemade ineffective such that preparation does not begin.

In some embodiments, the method may further include: accessing awaitlist indicating table wait times; adding an entry to the waitlistfor a table based on a request received from the consumer device;sending an estimated seating time for the table to the consumer device;associating the online order data with the entry to the waitlist; andsending an indication that the table is available to the consumerdevice. Furthermore, a trigger condition to begin preparing the onlineorder may be based upon the estimated seating time.

Some embodiments provide a method for managing a menu database. Themethod may include accessing menu information from the menu databaseindicating amounts of menu items that are in stock. The menu databasemay be configured to support displays presented by a point-of-saledevice in a restaurant and/or an online menu accessible by a consumerdevice located remote from the restaurant. The method may furtherinclude updating menu information. In response to the menu informationbeing updated, the method may include updating menu items included inthe online menu and/or the displays presented by the point-of-saledevice.

In some embodiments, the method may further include updating the menuinformation based on an online order. In turn, the online menu may befurther updated based on changes to the menu information as a result ofthe online order. As such, the method may further include removing atleast one out of stock menu item from the online menu.

Some embodiments may include an apparatus and/or system configured toimplement the methods and/or other functionality discussed herein. Inother words, the apparatus may include one or more processors and/orother machine components configured to implement the functionalitydiscussed herein based on instructions and/or other data stored inmemory and/or other non-transitory computer readable media.

These characteristics as well as additional features, functions, anddetails of the present invention are described below. Similarly,corresponding and additional embodiments are also described below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described embodiments of the invention in general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIGS. 1-7 show example graphical user interface displays that may bepresented by various components of systems, in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 8 shows a flow chart of an example method for utilizing a menudatabase, performed in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 9 shows an example online menu, in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart of an example method for providing onlineordering, performed in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 11 shows a flow chart of an example method for generating and/orproviding order suggestions, performed in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 12 shows a flow chart of an example method for providing an onlineorder to a POS system, performed in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 13 shows a flow chart of an example method for facilitating afinancial transaction with a payment account, performed in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 14 shows a flow chart of an example method for charging an onlineorder to a plurality of consumers, performed in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 15 shows an example payment account display, in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 16 shows a flow chart of an example method for managing a menudatabase, performed in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 17 shows an example system for providing an online orders,configured in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 18 shows an example merchant system, configured in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 19 shows an example promotional system, configured in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 20 shows an example schematic block diagram of circuitry configuredin accordance with some embodiments discussed herein;

FIGS. 21-22 show examples of data that may be stored to facilitateoperations in accordance with some example embodiments;

FIG. 23 shows example data that may be stored in a menu database inaccordance with some embodiments; and

FIG. 24 shows a flow chart of an example method for providing an onlineorder in connection with a table waitlist, performed in accordance withsome embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention now will be described more fullyhereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some,but not all embodiments of the inventions are shown. Indeed, embodimentsof the invention may be embodied in many different forms and should notbe construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather,these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfyapplicable legal requirements. Like numbers refer to like elementsthroughout.

As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information” and similarterms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of beingcaptured, transmitted, received, displayed and/or stored in accordancewith various example embodiments. Thus, use of any such terms should notbe taken to limit the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Further, wherea computing device is described herein to receive data from anothercomputing device, it will be appreciated that the data may be receiveddirectly from the another computing device or may be received indirectlyvia one or more intermediary computing devices, such as, for example,one or more servers, relays, routers, network access points, basestations, and/or the like. Similarly, where a computing device isdescribed herein to send data to another computing device, it will beappreciated that the data may be sent directly to the another computingdevice or may be sent indirectly via one or more intermediary computingdevices, such as, for example, one or more servers, relays, routers,network access points, base stations, and/or the like.

Embodiments discussed herein may be configured to enable a shop toreceive advance online orders in a manner that, from the merchant'sperspective, is seamless to and integrated with the merchant's POSsystem. In this regard, some embodiments may free the merchant fromneeding a separate printer and/or facsimile machine to receive onlineorders. By removing the fax machine/email system dedicated onlineorders, the risk of online orders being lost or mixed-up (a problem thatmay be more of an issue when only a partial order is placed in advance)can be reduced. For example, a consumer may want to have their happyhour drinks and appetizers waiting at his table upon his arrival and useembodiments described herein to advance order only those items online.Once at his table, the consumer may then want to add dinner and/ordessert to his order. Because the advance online order was automaticallyentered into the merchant's POS system, it is easy for the merchant'sstaff to add dinner and dessert to it. As discussed below, a tableidentifier (e.g., where the consumer is assigned to physically sit)and/or other identifier may be associated with the online order and belikewise associated with the in-shop order, thereby marrying the onlineand in-shop orders together seamlessly (from the consumer's andmerchant's perspectives).

While adding to an order may not be a major problem currentlyexperienced by existing online ordering systems that are intended for(or limited to) receiving an entire order, new, currently un-experiencedproblems may materialize and embodiments discussed herein seek to beproactive in solving some yet-to-be-experienced problems that maydevelop absent the embodiments discussed herein. For example,faxing/emailing partial orders could be a logistical problem for atleast some restaurants (such as those do not let tabs be transferredfrom the bar area to the dining area). Hence, an integrated system thatenables order ahead functionality to be married with POS functionalitycan help solve such problems before they are even experienced by themerchant.

Another advantage that may be realized by some embodiments discussedherein includes a single menu database that can be configured to be usedto generate the displays used by both consumers and the merchants' waitstaff (servers/bartenders/etc.). Using a single menu database can makethe initial build and subsequent updates to the online ordering systemeasier for merchants (or whoever maintains their POS systems). Also,despite pulling from a single menu database, controls may be provided tothe merchant to enable the customization of what a consumer seesseparate from what the wait staff sees. For example, a consumer may begiven the option to order a Maker's Manhattan, whereas the wait staffwould select Maker's Mark and then modify it as Manhattan-style martini.

Other advantages that may be realized by some embodiments discussedherein are related to expanding merchants' ability to manage inventoryand have more accurate predictive ordering, consumers' ability to avoidthe “check-dance,” the ability to provide consumers a more personalizedexperience and additional deal offers, and advanced bill-dividingfunctionality (with or without auto-checkout).

FIGS. 1-7 show example displays 100-700 that may be presented by one ormore display screens of one or more machines, sometimes referred toherein as “merchant devices,” in accordance with some embodimentsdiscussed herein. For example, the displays of FIGS. 1-7 may bepresented to a merchant by a mobile device and/or a stationary device.Example mobile devices may include a cell phone, smart phone, mobilephone, laptop, tablet, iPhone, iPad, or the like. Additionally oralternatively, a merchant may access display 100-700 via a stationarydevice, such as a desktop computer, work station, checkout or POSdevice.

It will be appreciated that any number of staff members employed by amerchant may have access to merchant systems, and, as such, the term“merchant” will be used herein to describe any user representing themerchant. The displays of FIGS. 1-7 are examples of graphical userinterfaces that may be provided to aid in POS and managementfunctionalities, such as the configuring and maintaining of a menudatabase of menu items.

Similar to a merchant device, as described above, a machine used by aconsumer may be referred to herein as a “consumer device” and may be apersonal computer (e.g., desktop computer) and/or mobile device (e.g.,tablet computer, laptop computer, cellular telephone, etc.), among otherthings. FIGS. 9 and 15 show example displays 900 and 1500 that may bepresented by one or more display screens of one or more consumerdevices. Examples of merchant devices and consumer devices are discussedin connection with FIGS. 17 and 18.

Furthermore, displays 100-700, 900 and 1500 may be accessed via anapplication that executes locally and causes a merchant device and/orconsumer device to be configured to function as a specialized machine.Additionally or alternatively, cloud-based, multi-tenant, thin-client,and/or other types online service techniques may be used. For example,the displays may be provided by one or more applications that execute ona remote device, such as a server. User input information may begenerated by and sent from the merchant/consumer device to the remotedevice, while visual and/or audio information is sent from the remotedevice to the merchant device.

The display of FIG. 1, namely POS main display 100, is an examplegraphical user interface that may be displayed by/to a merchant device(e.g., POS devices 1806A-1806N shown in FIG. 18). POS main display 100may be configured to help the merchant, such as a member of the waitstaff, a server or a cashier, perform POS services at a restaurant.Additionally or alternatively, POS main display 100 may be configured tohelp a merchant (e.g., a manager, supervisor, technician, owner ordesignated employee) manage a menu database (e.g., menu database 1802shown in FIG. 18) for the restaurant.

As shown in POS main display 100, a merchant, whose identity may beshown in merchant identification display 122, may access a selectionmenu 102. In some embodiments, POS main display 100 may be tailored to aparticular employee and/or to the role of the employee within a merchantorganization. For example, the merchant may be a manager at arestaurant. As such, upon the merchant's logging in or otherwiseproviding an identification for access to POS main display 100,notification display 106 may include a message indicating that therestaurant is out of fried chicken (e.g., lacks sufficient inventory)and/or that fried chicken is no longer on the menu or should not beserved. A logged in merchant may also select switch user selection 104.

A displayed selection may be selected using any suitable approach, suchas by contacting a touch screen, speaking, pressing a key, guiding acursor, or any other user input technique. Upon selecting switch userselection 104, a login display (not shown to avoid unnecessarilyovercomplicating the drawings) may be provided that prompts the merchantfor identification and/or authentication information, such as for accessto POS main display 100.

Returning to FIG. 1, the merchant may select an option from selectionmenu 102. For example, the merchant may select home selection 108,tables selection 110, checks selection 112, quick serve selection 114 ormenu manager selection 118. Upon selecting home selection 108, homedisplay 120 may populate allowing the merchant to clock-in/clock-outand/or perform other administrative tasks, such viewing timesheets orfinancial records.

Upon selecting tables selection 110, main zone display 200 as shown inFIG. 2 may be presented. Main zone display 200 may be configured toindicate the number of open tables (e.g., at 210) and seated tables(e.g., at 212) at various zones of the restaurant (e.g., zonesassociated with zone selections 202, 204, 206 and 208). Upon selectionof a zone selection 202-208, the merchant may be presented with a zonedisplay. For example, upon selecting zone selection 206 (e.g., the zoneassociated with seating at the back of the restaurant or the “backzone,” as used herein), zone display 300 as shown in FIG. 3 may bedisplayed to provide a floor plan 302 of tables in the back zone. Floorplan 302 may further include an indication of open tables and seatedtables in the back zone at 304. In some embodiments, a merchant may editfloor plan 302 by selecting floor plan edit selection 306. As such, zonedisplay 300 may be configured to allow the merchant to change the layoutof tables, the size and orientation of tables, the number of tables, thetable number associated with each table, the number of customers thatmay be seated at each table, or the like.

Via selection of a zone selection 202-208, a merchant may initiate aprocess for creating an order. For example, a merchant may carry amobile device, such as a tablet, to a table and select the appropriatezone selection 202-208. In another example, a merchant may take anorder, such via telephone or in-person, and assign the order to a tableby selecting an appropriate zone selection 202-208. Additionally oralternatively, a merchant may modify an existing order that has beenpreviously associated with a table, including but not limited toupdating menu items, table assignments, payment information, etc.

In some embodiments, the merchant may select table 70 by selecting at310 in floor plan 302. Responsive to the selection, table order display400, as shown in FIG. 4, may be provided. Table order display 400 mayinclude POS menu 402 and checkout form 404. The merchant may navigatePOS menu 402, which may include a selectable display of menu items. Oneor more selected menu items may populate on checkout form 404. Atransaction price for selected menu items may be shown at 408. Thenumber of guests associated with the order may be shown at 410.Furthermore, the status of the order and/or table may be shown at 412and 414 (e.g., a time for a reservation, whether guests are seated, atime when the guests are seated, or the like).

When the order is complete, such as when checkout form 404 has beencompleted in accordance with consumer instructions, the merchant maysend kitchen data to a kitchen system, such as kitchen system 1808 shownin FIG. 18, by selecting send selection 425. The kitchen data may beconfigured to indicate to kitchen employees that they should beginpreparation one or more menu items associated with the order. Forexample, the kitchen data may be sent to a ticket printer (e.g., ticketprinter 1814) instructing the ticket printer to print out a ticket thatis viewable by the kitchen employees. Alternatively or additionally, thekitchen data may be sent to one or more electronic display devices(e.g., display device 1816) that are viewable by the kitchen employees.

Returning to FIG. 2, a merchant may initiate a process for creating areservation via selection of a zone selection 202-208. For example, amerchant may take a reservation, such via telephone or in person, andassign the reservation to a table by selecting the appropriate zoneselection 202-208. The table assignment may be based on storedinformation regarding reservations (e.g., as stored in order database1812) such that two parties are not assigned to the same table at thesame time. In an example process, the merchant may select zone selection206, then table 70 at 310 in floor plan 302 of zone display 300 shown inFIG. 3, then reservation selection 420 of table order display 400 asshown in FIG. 4. Additionally and/or alternatively, the merchant mayalso associate an order with the reservation, such as by selecting menuitems from POS menu 402. In some embodiments, the merchant may storedata associated with the reservation and/or order by selecting sendselection 425. Similar techniques may be used to schedule an order fordelivery or take out. An example reservation system is discussed incommonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/631,313, titled“SCHEDULING APPOINTMENTS WITH DEAL OFFERS,” which is hereby incorporatedby reference in its entirety.

FIG. 5 shows an example check display 500, in accordance with someembodiments. The check display 500 allows a merchant to generate anytype of order and/or an associated check. Returning to FIG. 1, amerchant may select checks selection 112 of POS main display 100, whichmay bring up a check menu configured to allow a merchant to create a newcheck and/or view a listing of checks (not shown to avoid unnecessarilycomplicating the drawings) that are associated with existing orders. Thelisting of checks may include a selectable list of checks eachassociated with a stored order.

Upon creating a new check (such as by selecting new check selection 502shown in FIG. 5) or selecting particular check from the listing ofchecks, check display 500 may be displayed. The merchant may view and/oralter the order via check display 500. For example, the merchant maychange the table (or reservation time) associated with a check via tableselection 504, add or remove items from the tab and/or change paymentmethods via tab selection 506, view and update delivery information viadelivery selection 508, or view and update takeout information viatakeout selection 510. Furthermore, upon completion of the order, themerchant may select create check selection 512, which may result instorage of a new check or modifications to a selected check from thelisting of checks. Additionally or alternatively, the merchant may sendcheck data to a check printer or tab printer, which or may not be thesame device as the ticket printer 1814 shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 6 shows an example quick serve display 600, in accordance with someembodiments. The merchant may access quick serve display 600 via quickserve selection 114 of POS main display 100 shown in FIG. 1. Quick servedisplay 600 provides a streamlined process for generating an order by amerchant. For example, quick serve display 600 may be used for orderswithout assigned seating and/or reservations (e.g., a fast foodrestaurant or a bar). Therefore, the merchant may expedite service bynot having to enter a particular table number, guest number, reservationtime, and/or other service-related information while generating a quickserve order.

In some embodiments, an order that is generated by a merchant device maybe sent and/or stored in one or more servers, such as order server 1810and/or order server 1908, shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, respectively. Asused herein, a “restaurant device” may refer to a merchant device (e.g.,a POS device) that is located within a restaurant and configured tofacilitate in-restaurant ordering. In that sense, the one or moreservers may be configured to receive, from the restaurant device,in-restaurant order data. As will be discussed in greater detail belowwith respect to method 1200, the in-restaurant order data may includemenu items (e.g., from an online menu or the POS menu) that are to beadded to an online order.

FIG. 7 shows an example menu manager display 700, configured inaccordance with some embodiments. Menu manager display 700 may beconfigured to allow a merchant to build and/or manage a menu database(e.g., menu database 1802 shown in FIG. 18). As such, menu managerdisplay 700 may include an inventory display 702. In some embodiments,access to menu manager display 700 may be based on the role and/oridentity of the merchant. For example, a manager or owner may haveaccess to menu manager display 700 while a waiter or waitress may not.In some embodiments, menu manager selection 118, as shown in FIG. 1, isonly visually displayed in POS main display 100 for qualifying merchantsof the restaurant via a POS device. Additionally and/or alternatively,menu manager display 700 (or a similar online interface) may be accessedvia a merchant device without POS functionality, such as a laptop,desktop, workstation, tablet, smartphone, etc.

In some embodiments, inventory display 702 may include a display of menuitems stored in the menu database. The menu database may include one ormore tables wherein rows representing menu items include column-definedproperties, as shown in FIG. 22. In some examples, inventory display 702may utilize a table format having analogous menu item properties suchas: item name column 704 (e.g., corresponding with item name field 2302shown in FIG. 23), item quantity column 706 (e.g., corresponding withitem quantity field 2304), price column 722 (e.g., corresponding withprice field 2306), online menu column 708 (e.g., corresponding with showin online menu field 2308), and POS menu column 710 (e.g., correspondingwith show in POS menu field 2310).

Each row of inventory display 702 may be associated with a particularmenu item. In that sense, inventory display 702 may provide anindication (e.g., for each menu item) of a name of the menu item, thequantity remaining of the menu item, the price of the menu item, whetherthe menu item is shown in an online menu (e.g., online menu 900 shown inFIG. 9), and whether the menu item is shown in a POS menu (e.g., POSmenu 402 shown in FIG. 4 and/or quick serve menu 602 shown in FIG. 6).

For example, row 712 indicates that Fried Shrimp Platter has 29 servingsremaining (e.g., that the restaurant can only prepare 29 more orders ofFried Shrimp Platter before its inventory for that menu item is depletedor otherwise unavailable for use), and that Fried Shrimp Platter isdisplayed on the POS menu, but not the online menu. Row 714 indicatesthat Fried Chicken has no servings remaining and that it is notdisplayed on the online menu or the POS menu. In another example, Row716 indicates that Chicken and Waffles has 502 servings remaining and isdisplayed on both the POS and the online menu. In some embodiments (notshown to avoid unnecessarily complicating the disclosure), a separatecolumn (and database fields) may be provided for different online menusand/or different POS menus that may be offered by the restaurant.

In some embodiments, menu manager display 700 may be configured to allowa merchant to set, enable, disable, elect, define or otherwise indicaterules for automatically updating the menu database and its data. Forexample, menu settings selection 718 may result in a settings display(not shown to avoid unnecessarily complicating the drawings) with whicha merchant may indicate that a menu item will be taken off the onlinemenu and/or POS menu once there is less than a defined quantity (e.g.,30, at least 30, no more than 30, and/or any other number or range ofnumbers) of servings remaining. Additionally and/or alternatively, themerchant may indicate that a menu item should remain included in theonline menu and/or POS menu until there are no servings remaining. Whena menu item quantity falls below the defined quantity, such as may occuras a result of a POS order and/or an online order, the menu database maybe updated to reflect the lowered quantity of the menu item. Forexample, Fried Shrimp Platter may have quantity decreased from 30 to 29after an order.

Furthermore, menu information may be generated from the menu item, suchas whether the menu item is being offered on the online menu or POSmenu, as shown by online menu column 708 and POS menu column 710,respectively. For example, upon Fried Shrimp Platter quantity fallingbelow a defined quantity of 30 servings, menu information may begenerated (and/or stored in the menu database) indicating that FriedShrimp Platter is no longer being offered on the online menu, as shownin online menu column 708.

In another example, either automatically or in accordance with merchantconfiguration, a menu item may be taken off both the online menu and thePOS menu once its quantity has decreased to a defined quantity (such as0), as shown for Fried Chicken at row 714 of inventory display 702.Additionally or alternatively, a relevant message may be sent to amerchant, such as at notification display 106 shown in FIG. 1,indicating that Fried Chicken is no longer in stock or running low.

In some embodiments, menu manager display 700 may allow a merchant tocreate, update, or otherwise manage the menu database. A related flowchart of an example method 800, performed according to some embodimentsis shown in FIG. 8. Method 800 begins at 802. At 804, a merchant mayenter a menu item to the menu database. For example, the merchant mayselect create menu item selection 720 of inventory display 702 and entera menu item and associated information (e.g., name, quantity, price,etc.).

At 806, menu information may be generated from the menu items. The menuinformation may include, for example, whether the created menu item isdisplayed on the online menu, the POS menu, neither menus, or bothmenus. The circuitry of the merchant device and/or one or more serversconfigured to perform method 800 may be configured to follow rules, suchas may be configured by a merchant via settings selection 718, toautomatically generate one or more pieces of menu information for themenu item.

Additionally and/or alternatively, the circuitry of the merchant deviceand/or one or more servers may be configured to receive menu informationfor each menu item at 806 when a menu item is created. The merchant mayalso edit an existing menu item and associated menu information. Forexample, the merchant may select edit menu selection 724 of inventorydisplay 702, allowing the merchant to edit the properties of menu itemsin the menu database. Furthermore, the merchant may remove an existingmenu item from the menu database, such as by selecting remove menu itemselection 726 of inventory display 702.

At 808, the generated menu information may be stored in the menudatabase. At 810, a determination may be made as to whether the merchantwants to enter another menu item to the menu database. If the merchantindicates a desire to enter another menu item, method 800 may return to804. If the merchant does not indicate a desire to enter another menuitem, method 800 may proceed to 812.

At 812, POS functionality may be facilitated using the menu database.For example, the menu database may be configured to send its data, suchas menu information, to the merchant device. As discussed above, eachmenu item may be stored in the menu database with an indicationregarding whether the menu item is to be displayed on one or more POSmenus (e.g., POS menu 402 shown in FIG. 4 and/or quick serve menu 602shown in FIG. 6). As such, POS menus may be generated and updated (e.g.,at defined update times or in accordance with real-time menu databaseupdates) based on data stored in the menu database.

At 814, an online menu may be generated using the menu information inthe menu database. FIG. 9 shows an example of an online menu display900, configured in accordance with some embodiments. In someembodiments, online menu display 900 may be generated by one or moreservers (e.g., order server 1810 or 1908 shown in FIGS. 18 and 19,respectively) and provided to a consumer device. In this regard, aconsumer may access online menu display 900 to place an online order, areservation and/or a reservation with an associated online order. Theconsumer device may access online menu display 900 from any location inwhich there is internet access, including remotely from the restaurantand/or from inside the restaurant. Additionally and/or alternatively,the consumer device may be running an application and/or otherwise beconfigured to provide the online menu and/or other displays discussedherein in the absence of a network connection (e.g., based on apre-loaded application). For example, a consumer may be able to downloadthe online menu 900 and view it later when offline.

As shown in FIG. 9, online menu display 900 may include online listingof menu items 902 that includes menu items (e.g., item names and prices)from the menu database. In some embodiments, online menu 900 may includeonly menu items that are to be shown online, as indicated by the menudatabase in online menu field 2308 as shown in FIG. 23.

In some embodiments, online menu display 900 may be generated and/orupdated (e.g., at defined update times or in real-time menu with menudatabase updates) based data stored in the menu database. Thus, anupdate to the menu database as discussed in FIG. 16 in connection withmethod 1600, may be reflected in one or more POS menus and/or onlinemenu display 900. Despite pulling from a single menu database, someembodiments may allow the merchant customize of what a consumer seesseparate from what the wait staff sees. For example, a consumer may begiven the option to order a Maker's Manhattan via online menu display900, whereas the wait staff may select Maker's Mark and then modify itas Manhattan-style martini via POS menu 402 and/or quick serve display600.

In some embodiments, online listing of menu items 902 may be populatedwith menu items based on automated optimization. For example, the typeand quantity of menu items that are ordered via online menu display 900may be tracked (e.g., stored as menu information in the menu database).As such, the menu items that are most likely to be ordered online may bepresented more prominently (e.g., at the top) of online listing of menuitems 902. Additionally and/or alternatively, only a subset of menuitems from all of the menu items stored in the menu database may bepresented via online listing of menu items 902 based on automatedoptimization.

Returning to method 800 shown in FIG. 8, the online menu generated at814 may be provided to a consumer device at 816. The online menu may beprovided to the consumer device when the consumer device is at virtuallyany location with online access. In some embodiments, a presence-basedmenu may be provided to the consumer device upon entering the merchantshop. The presence-based menu may be provided via the Internet (e.g.,with location tracking to determine consumer presence) and/or via aproximity-based connection (e.g., a personal area network) with themerchant device. Presence-based interactions between consumer devicesand merchant devices, applicable to some embodiments, are discussed ingreater detail in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/715,230,titled “CONSUMER PRESENCE BASED DEAL OFFERS,” which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

In some embodiments, the presence-based menu may be different from theonline menu such that what is provided to the consumer device may differdepending on whether the consumer is at the merchant shop or not. Forexample, the presence-based menu provided at the merchant shop mayinclude a full menu, while the online menu may include a subset of menuitems that are suitable for takeout or to-go orders. In someembodiments, the presence-based menu may be generated using techniquessimilar to those described above for the online menu. For example, thepresence-based menu may be generated based on menu information in themenu database. Furthermore, the merchant and/or promotional system maybe allowed to select (e.g., either manually or programmatically) whichmenu items appear on the presence-based menu and/or the online menu,whether to disable/enable a menu, and/or otherwise manage the menus. Insome embodiments, the consumer device may also be configured to allowthe consumer to select between the online menu and the presence-basedmenu (e.g., whether the consumer is at the merchant shop or otherwise).The discussion herein regarding the online menu may be also applicableto the presence-based menu in various embodiments, and is not repeatedwith respect to the presence-based menu to avoid unnecessarilyovercomplicating the disclosure. Method 800 may then end at 818.

FIG. 10 shows a flow chart illustrating an example method 1000 forproviding online ordering with an online menu, performed in accordancewith some embodiments. As such, FIG. 10 is discussed with reference toexample online menu display 900 shown in FIG. 9. Method 1000 may beperformed by a merchant device with access to the menu database (e.g.,order server 1810 and/or POS devices 1806A-1806N shown in FIG. 18) orone or more servers capable of accessing the menu database (e.g., orderserver 1908 and/or promotional server 1706 or 1910), sending informationstored in the menu database to a consumer device, and receiving onlineorder information from the consumer device.

Method 1000 may begin at 1002 and proceed to 1004, where an online menu,such as online menu display 900, may be provided to a consumer device.At 1006, a determination may be made as to whether the consumer deviceis associated with a payment account (or other type of user profile).“Payment account,” as used herein, may refer to an association of aconsumer with a method of payment. In that sense, example paymentaccounts may include a merchant managed account, a social networkingaccount, online payment account, a promotional account (e.g., apromotional provider account that may include a user profile with alinked financial payment account), an online user account, emailaccount, or the like. Such accounts may be further associated with afinancial payment account, such as a credit account, a checking account,a debit account, a savings account, a bank account, or the like. In someembodiments, a “payment account” may refer to any type of account thatmay be used in a financial transaction.

If it is determined at 1006 that the consumer device is not associatedwith a payment account (e.g., a consumer has not provided identificationand/or authentication information for login via a payment account), theconsumer may be prompted with option to provide a payment account at1008. Alternatively and/or additionally, the consumer (e.g., a new user)may be prompted with an option to create a payment account at 1008. Insome embodiments, the consumer may be given selectable options forsigning in with and/or creating a preferred payment account type.

At 1010, a determination may be made regarding whether the consumer hasprovided payment account information. In some embodiments, thedetermination may include sending the payment account informationprovided by the consumer to one or more servers for identificationand/or authentication (e.g., promotional server 1706 or 3rd partysystems 1714A-1714N shown in FIG. 17).

If the user has successfully provided payment account information,method 800 may proceed to 1012, where information associated with thepayment account (e.g., name, address, contact information, paymentinformation, credit card information, deal voucher information, profileinformation, or the like) may be stored (e.g., in POS system 1806,promotional database 1704, 3rd party systems 1714A-1714N, POS system1806).

If the consumer fails to successfully provide payment accountinformation at 1010, method 800 may proceed to 1020 (discussed infurther detail below), where an online order may be received with theconsumer. As such, some embodiments may allow the consumer to provide apayment account any time after the online order is received at 1020. Forexample, whether located at the restaurant or remote from therestaurant, the consumer may enter a payment account with paymentaccount display 1500 (e.g., after the consumer selects complete orderselection 916 of online menu display 900) via the consumer device.Additionally and/or alternatively, the consumer may provide analternative form of payment (e.g., as discussed at 1308 of method 300)via payment account display 1500 and/or to the merchant.

Returning to 1006, if it is determined that the consumer device isassociated with a payment account, method 1000 may proceed to 1012,where any additional information provided by the consumer may be stored.

At 1014, order history associated with the payment account may beretrieved, as discussed below in method 1100. At 1016, a determinationmay be performed as to whether to make order suggestions to theconsumer. For example, the merchant device may be configured such thatthe merchant may enable or disable the making of order suggestions.

If it is determined that order suggestions will be provided, method 1000may proceed to 1018. At 1018, order suggestions may be generated andprovided based on the order history, such as to the consumer device, asdiscussed below in method 1100.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a method 1100 for generating and/orproviding order suggestions, performed in accordance with someembodiments. As such, method 1100 may be performed at 1018 of method1000 after it is determined at 1016 to make order suggestions to theconsumer. Method 1100 may begin at 1102 and proceed to 1104, where orderhistory associated with a consumer and/or payment account is retrieved.

In some embodiments, an order history from the restaurant that isassociated with the payment account may be retrieved at 1102.Alternatively and/or additionally, an order history from one or moreother restaurants that is associated with the payment account may beretrieved. As such, a payment account may be specific to a restaurant(e.g., a patron account) or may be used in conjunction with a pluralityof restaurants (e.g., a credit card account, an online payment account,a promotional system account, etc.). Where a payment account is shared,a restaurant may determine whether to share its order history with otherrestaurants (including whether to share free of charge or for a fee)and/or whether to retrieve order histories from other restaurants at1102. Thus, retrieving order history may include sending and/orreceiving data from another merchant system, a third party system, or apromotional system.

At 1106, one or more available deal vouchers may be retrieved. In someembodiments, retrieving available deal vouchers may includecommunicating with a promotional system, such as promotional system 1702shown in FIG. 1700. In another example, a restaurant may generate andprovide its own offering of deal vouchers that may be purchased by theconsumer.

At 1108, one or more unused deal vouchers that has been purchased by theconsumer associated with the payment account may be retrieved. Forexample, the payment account may be a promotional account (or associatedwith a promotional account) that allows a consumer to purchase dealvouchers based on promotional offerings for discounted products and/orservices by merchants. For example, the consumer may have previouslypurchased a deal voucher with the payment account but has not yetredeemed the purchased deal voucher. In some embodiments, deal vouchersthat may be used at the restaurant, that have not expired, and/or thathave not been redeemed may be retrieved at 1108 (e.g., from promotionalsystem 1702).

At 1110, online social network information may be retrieved. An “onlinesocial network,” as used herein, may refer to an online service,platform, or internet site that is configured to facilitate the buildingof social connections for its account holders. A user may create aprofile and share preference information such as interests, hobbies,likes, dislikes, etc. via the internet. Furthermore, the user may createan association with other users, such as by sending “friend requests”and/or responding to friend requests. In some embodiments, the paymentaccount may be a social networking account (e.g., Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn, or the like). Virtually any type of payment account mayinclude social networking capabilities. As such, retrieving onlinesocial network information at 1110 may be performed by communicatingwith promotional system 1702, one or more 3rd party systems 1714A-1714N,or the like. In some embodiments, a user's preferences stored in theprofile may be retrieved at 1110. Furthermore, preferences of friendsand/or family of the consumer, as well as their order histories, mayalso be retrieved at 1110.

At 1112, one or more suggested menu items may be generated based on someor all of the data retrieved at 1104-1110. For example, if the consumerhas ordered certain dishes at the restaurant and/or at one or more otherrestaurants, a menu item suggestion may be generated based on suchorders. In another example, a suggestion may be generated based on thefact the consumer has never tried a particular menu item. Howrecommendations are made may be consumer/merchant configurable and/orrestricted in any suitable manner (e.g., opt-in required by consumerand/or merchant, limited to one restaurant, limited to one type ofrestaurant, open to a group of restaurants, etc.). Method 1100 may endat 1114.

Returning to FIG. 10, the one or more suggested menu items (as may bedetermined at 1112 of method 1100) may be provided to the consumerdevice at 1018, an example of which is shown at 922 of online menudisplay 900 in FIG. 9. As discussed above, a suggested item may beassociated with a deal voucher that the consumer may be given an optionto purchase and/or redeem. As such, some embodiments of online menudisplay 900 may allow a user to purchase a deal voucher or to redeem apurchased deal voucher for the suggested menu item.

If it is determined at 1016 not to make order suggestions to theconsumer or if the one or more suggested menu items are provided to theconsumer at 1018, method 1000 may proceed to 1022, where an online ordermay be received from the consumer. For example, a consumer may selectorder selection 904 of online menu display 900. Responsive to theselection, online listing of menu items 902 may be presented. A user mayadd a menu item to an online order by setting a quantity, such as at906, and then selecting add to order selection 908. Menu items that havebeen added to the order may be displayed with any relevant information,such as at online cart display 910. Furthermore, the consumer may attachcomments to the online order (e.g., indicating a preference for a rareSalmon Fillet) via add comment selection 912. The user may also remove amenu item from online cart display 910 by selecting remove itemselection 914. The consumer may select complete order selection 916 toindicate that the menu item entries in online cart display 910 arecomplete.

In some embodiments, order options may be received with the online orderat 1020. Example order options may include whether the order is fordine-in, takeout or delivery. With reference to online menu 900 shown inFIG. 9, the consumer may select dine-in selection 916, takeout selection918 or delivery selection 920. The consumer may further be prompted foradditional information regarding a selected order option. For a takeoutselection, for example, the consumer may be asked for a pickup time. Fora delivery selection, the consumer may enter a delivery time andlocation. For a dine-in selection, the consumer may be prompted for areservation time, the number of guests, seating preferences, tablepreferences, or virtually any other information that may be useful inproviding a dine-in option to the consumer.

As discussed above, some embodiments may provide for a presence-basedmenu when the consumer is at the merchant shop. As such, the consumerdevice may be configured add menu items to a presence-based order viathe consumer device at the merchant shop. Method 1000 may end at 1022.

FIG. 12 shows an example of a method 1200 for providing an online order(e.g., as received by ordering system 1804 shown in FIG. 18) to a POSsystem (e.g., POS system 1806). For example, online order informationreceived from the consumer device may be sent to a POS device (e.g., POSdevices 1806A-1806N). As discussed above with reference to displays100-700, the POS device may be configured to facilitate POS orders atthe restaurant. In some embodiments, similar techniques may be used tofacilitate online orders received by the ordering system.

In some embodiments, one or more servers, such as order server 1810and/or order server 1908, may be configured to perform method 1200.Additionally and/or alternatively, any other device (e.g., promotionalserver 1706, merchant systems 1710A-1710N, a merchant device, and 3rdparty systems 1714A-1714N) capable of communicating with the consumerdevice and the POS device may be configured to perform method 1200.

Method 1200 may begin at 1202 and proceed to 1204, where an online ordermay be received from a consumer device. For example, online order datamay be generated by a consumer device with online menu display 900, asdiscussed above at 1020 of method 1000. In some embodiments, apresence-based order including presence-based order data may be receivedfrom the consumer device instead of and/or in addition to the onlineorder data. Method 1200 is described with reference to an online order,but may also be applicable to a presence-based order.

At 1206, a trigger condition to begin preparation of the online ordermay be determined. The trigger condition may be based on one or morefactors including time-based factors, event-based factors, and/or one ormore condition-based factors. For example, the trigger condition may bebased on a reservation time, such that food preparation may begin nearthe reservation time. In another example, a user's location may be usedsuch food preparation may begin when the user (or a location-trackedconsumer device) is within a certain proximity to the restaurant.Furthermore, characteristics of the online order may factor into thedetermination. For example, an order including a large number of menuitems may require a greater buffer time for food preparation. Similarly,certain menu items may require greater preparation times than others.Via the use of trigger conditions, a first course may be prepared andwaiting for the consumer at the consumer's table when the consumer isseated, in accordance with some example embodiments.

At 1208, POS data associated with the online order may be sent to thePOS device. The POS data may indicate, for example, the menu items inthe online order. It may also indicate order options including dine-intime, delivery time, pickup time, reservation time, a trigger conditionto begin food preparation, among other things. Furthermore, POS data mayindicate payment options, such as one or more payment accounts, asdiscussed in further detail below in connection with FIGS. 13-15.

In some embodiments, the POS data may be configured such that the onlineorder may be received by the POS device to facilitate automated foodpreparation, table reservations, and/or payment. In other words, datathat a merchant may enter via displays 100-700 of FIGS. 1-7, may bereceived as an online order, such as by order server 1810. The data maythen be sent to the POS device with little or no merchant intervention.As such, there may be no need for the merchant to manually enter anonline order as a POS order via the POS device.

In some embodiments, the merchant may access and update the online ordervia the POS device similar to how a merchant might access a stored POSorder (e.g., via displays 100-700). For example, the listing of checksdiscussed above in connection with FIG. 5 may include a check associatedwith the online order. As such, the merchant may change the table orreservation time, the number of guests, add or remove menu items, viewand update order information, send the check to a check printer, etc.for the online order. In another example, the merchant may access theonline order that has been associated with a table via floor plan 302 ofzone display 300 shown in FIG. 3.

In some embodiments, the trigger condition to begin preparation of theonline order (e.g., shown at 1206 in FIG. 12) may be determined by thePOS device after the POS data is received at 1208. As such, it isappreciated that the order of steps of method 1200 as indicated by flowchart arrows in FIG. 12 (as well the order of steps for other methodsdiscussed herein) is merely exemplary and are not necessarily limiting.

At 1210, a determination may be performed as to whether the online orderwas canceled. Merchants may have policies as to when and/or to whatextent placed order may be canceled. For example, a merchant may allowcancelation at any time, prior to menu item preparation, prior to anoccurrence of a trigger condition, prior to payment, prior to areservation time, or not at all.

The consumer may indicate a desire to cancel an online order using thesame consumer device used to place the online order or a differentconsumer device. Upon identification and/or authentication (e.g., with apayment account or other online account), the consumer may select myorders selection 925 of online menu display 900 shown in FIG. 9. Inresponse, the consumer may be presented with information regardingpending orders (online orders or otherwise), including reservationinformation, payment information, account information, etc. The consumermay also be allowed to make other modifications to the online order,such adding/subtracting menu items, changing reservation times, changingthe number of guests, etc. As such, responsive to the consumer sendingan indication to cancel the online order, the POS data associated withthe online order may be removed (or otherwise configured to a statussuch that the online order is not prepared) from the POS device at 1212.In another example, the consumer may call (or otherwise contact) therestaurant and the merchant may enter the cancellation via the POSdevice, e.g., remove the order from the POS device. Method 1200 may thenend at 1228.

If the order was not determined to be not canceled at 1210, adetermination may be made as to whether one or more additional menuitems have been ordered by the consumer at 1214. As discussed above, theconsumer may select my orders selection 925 of online menu display 900,which may allow the user to associate additional menu items (e.g., fromthe with the online order. In some embodiments, techniques similar tothose described above with respect to FIGS. 8-9 may be used to presentan online menu to the consumer to add the additional menu items. It isappreciated that the additional menu items may be added by the consumerfrom virtually any location via the consumer device, such as at therestaurant after the consumer has arrived and/or at a location remotefrom the restaurant prior to the consumer's arrival.

At 1216, the online order may be updated to include the one or moreadditional menu items. The method may then return to 1208, where the oneor more additional menu items may be sent to the POS device. In someembodiments, the consumer may be allowed to associate an additional itemwith the online order until payment. For example, even after theconsumer has been seated, has received some or all of an order, and/orhas completed dining, the consumer may be allowed to enter an additionalitem online, such as with the consumer device.

At 1218, a determination may be made as to whether an additional itemhas been entered by the merchant (e.g., as in-restaurant order data).For example, after the consumer has arrived at the restaurant, theconsumer may directly ask the merchant to add an additional item to theorder. The merchant may enter the additional item via a POS devicesimilar to entry of a POS order, as discussed above. Additionally and/oralternatively, the consumer may otherwise contact the merchant (e.g., byphone) and request that additional menu items be added to the onlineorder.

If no additional items are entered by the merchant, method 1200 mayproceed to 1220 where preparation of the online order may begin. If anadditional item is entered by the merchant, the additional items may beadded to the order at 1222 (e.g., associated with a common table, group,order, online order, and/or method(s) of payment), and preparation ofthe additional items may begin at 1224.

As discussed above at 1206, the beginning of preparation of the onlineorder may depend upon the satisfaction of a trigger condition. As such,preparation of the online order at 1220 may be performed separately frompreparation of the additional items at 1224. For example, an additionalitem may be added after preparation of the online order has begun.Additionally and/or alternatively, if an additional item is enteredbefore preparation of the online order, preparation of all itemsassociated with the order may begin at substantially the same time.

In some embodiments, preparation of a menu item at 1220 and 1224 mayinclude sending data indicating the menu item to a ticket printer or adisplay device. For example, such data may be sent upon satisfaction ofa trigger condition to alert kitchen staff. A merchant system mayinclude one or more ticket printers and/or display devices. For example,a restaurant may include separate menu item preparation areasresponsible for different types of menu items (e.g., cold prep, hotprep, drink station, etc.). In some embodiments, different menu itemsmay be sent to the appropriate ticket printer and/or display device inaccordance with the preparation area of the menu items. The kitchenstaff, upon reading a ticket printed by the ticket printer and/or thedisplay device, may begin preparation of the order accordingly.

In some embodiments, the circuitry of the merchant device may be furtherconfigured to display information about a consumer that may be stored inassociation with a payment account (e.g., as provided by from theconsumer at 1008 of method 1000) at 1220 to provide a more personalizedexperience to the consumer when the consumer orders ahead. For example,the merchant may know more information about a consumer who orders inadvance than a consumer who just walks-in or makes a standardreservation (e.g., data in addition to name, number of people in partyand time of reservation). In this regard, the merchant may know whattype of table the consumer likes (booth, high top, etc.), whether theconsumer prefers bottle water or tap water, etc., and this informationcan be leveraged when the wait staff greets the consumer and,optionally, takes the rest of the consumer's order at, e.g., 1218.

At 1226, the consumer may be charged for the order. In some embodiments,the consumer may be charged at the completion of the meal and/or aftersending the online order and/or presence-based order to the merchant viathe consumer device. For example and as discussed above with respect toFIG. 5, the POS device may send check data to a check printer. The checkprinter may print the tab, which may be presented to the consumer. Insome embodiments, the consumer may pay the tab using any form of paymentincluding cash, credit card, debit card, check etc. As discussed ingreater detail below with respect to FIGS. 13-15, the consumer mayalternatively and/or additionally specify payment with one or morepayment accounts. Method 1200 may end at 1228.

FIG. 13 shows an example of a method 1300 for facilitating a financialtransaction with a payment account, performed in accordance with someembodiments. Method 1300 allows an advanced form of payment to beassociated with an order, such as the online order. In this regard, theconsumer may not have to present any form of payment and/or may onlyhave to choose the tip amount at the table. Method 1300 may be performedby a merchant device (e.g., POS devices 1806A-1806N or ordering system1804) and/or one or more servers (e.g., order servers 1810 and 1908).

Method 1300 may begin at 1302 and proceed to 1304. At 1304, adetermination may be made as to whether the consumer is associated witha payment account suitable for the financial transaction. As discussedabove with respect to FIG. 10, the consumer may provide payment accountinfo at 1008 of method 1000 that may be associated with the onlineorder. An example online display (e.g., payment account display 1500)for specifying one or more payment accounts is shown in FIG. 15.

If the consumer is determined to be associated with a suitable paymentaccount, method 1300 may proceed to 1314, wherein it is determinedwhether the consumer authorized applying of charges to the paymentaccount. For example, the consumer may be given a printed tab on whichthe consumer may provide a payment amount (e.g., tab amount and tip) andauthorization (e.g., signature). In another example, an electronic tabmay be sent to the consumer device such that the consumer may provideand/or authorize payment via the consumer device. Additionally and/oralternatively, the consumer may have preauthorized a payment amountonline via one or more payment accounts, such as by accessing paymentaccount display 1500 shown in FIG. 15.

Returning to 1304, if the consumer is not associated with a paymentaccount and/or a payment account that may be used by the merchant, amessage may be sent to the merchant device that prompts the merchant torequest payment information, such as an alternative form of payment, at1306. In that sense, the merchant may rely on notifications that maydirect the merchant through the payment process when needed.“Alternative form of payment,” as used herein, refers to a form ofpayment other than stored payment account, such as cash. At 1308, analternative form of payment may be received. The consumer's alternativeform of payment may be charged at 1310 and method 1300 may end at 1320.

Returning to 1314, if the consumer authorizes applying of charges to thepayment account, method 1300 may proceed to 1316, where the paymentaccount is charged. If the consumer has not authorized applying of thecharges to the payment account, a determination may be made at 1318regarding whether the consumer is still at the merchant. If the consumeris still at the merchant, the method may proceed to 1306-1310, where theconsumer may provide an alternative form of payment.

In some embodiments, if the consumer is determined to be no longer be atthe merchant at 1318, a stored and/or preauthorized payment account maybe charged at 1316. As such, payment of the tab may be triggered basedon the location of the consumer device. For example, as the consumerleaves the restaurant, the tab may be automatically charged with using astored and/or preauthorized payment account. After 1316, method 1300 mayend at 1320.

FIG. 14 shows an example of a method 1400 for charging an online orderto a plurality of consumers, performed in accordance with someembodiments. For example, one or more consumers may associate an onlineorder with a plurality of payment accounts. The plurality of paymentaccounts may be associated with a single consumer. Additionally and/oralternatively, the plurality of payment accounts may be associated withdifferent consumers so that a tab may be shared among different paymentaccounts and/or alternative payment methods.

Method 1400 may begin at 1402 and proceed to 1404, wherein dataassociated with an online order is received. At 1406, a determinationmay be made as to whether to charge a plurality of consumers for theonline order. In some embodiments, payment with a plurality of paymentaccounts may be set up by one or more consumers online, such as with aconsumer device.

FIG. 15 shows an example payment account display 1500, configured inaccordance with some embodiments. Payment account display 1500 mayfacilitate payment for an online order with one or more payment accounts(either at the time of the online order or at a later time). As such,payment account display 1500 may be accessed via a consumer device, suchas consumer device 1712 shown in FIG. 17.

For example, payment account display 1500 may be shown after theconsumer has selected complete order selection 916 in menu display 900,as shown in FIG. 9. A consumer may select a payment account type withdropdown box 1502, which may populate authentication box 1504. Next, theconsumer may enter a payment account login and password. If the paymentaccount is successfully authenticated, such as by an appropriate server,it may be added to payment account list 1506, as shown for PaymentAccount 1, 2 and 3. Additionally and/or alternatively, a payment accountpreviously provided by the consumer, such as at 1010 of method 1000, maybe added to payment account list 1506 either automatically or by theconsumer.

In some embodiments, the consumer may specify an allocation of paymentsamong a plurality of payment accounts at 1508. For example, the consumermay specify that the final tab is to be split evenly among the two ormore payment amounts. Additionally and/or alternatively, the consumermay specify a ratio for allocating the payment amounts. For example,Payment Account 1 may pay 50%, Payment Account 2 may pay 20% and PaymentAccount 3 may pay 30%. As such, additional items that are added to theonline order may be charged in accordance with the specified ratio. Insome embodiments, the consumer may customize rules for allocating thepayments. For example, the consumer may set limits on how much may becharged to a particular payment account and/or specify that a particularpayment account will be charged for any unpaid amounts (e.g., chargesresulting from additional items, non-preauthorized amounts, tips, or thelike).

In some embodiments, the consumer may set a preauthorized payment. Theconsumer may enter a preauthorized amount at 1510, which may be chargedin accordance with the allocation of payments specified at 1508. Bypreauthorizing a payment, the consumer may not need to be presented witha tab and/or may not need to present any method of payment. Instead, theconsumer may simply leave the restaurant upon completion of the meal.The payment account(s) may be charged at any time. For example, apayment account may be charged upon the consumer selecting submitselection 1512. In other examples, the payment account may be chargedupon submitting the online order, after completion of the meal at therestaurant, based on the location of the consumer device associated withthe consumer, upon beginning preparation of an order at 1220 or 1224 ofmethod 1200, etc.

In some embodiments, the consumer may also add a deal voucher as amethod of payment. By entering a deal voucher, the consumer may avoidhaving to present a printed voucher to the merchant at the restaurant.For example, the consumer may select deal voucher selection 1516 withdropdown box 1502. The consumer may be prompted to enter identificationfor the deal voucher, such as an identification number that may found ona printed voucher. Additionally and/or alternatively, deal vouchers maybe stored (e.g., in promotional database 1704) in association with apromotional account. For example, the consumer may select promotionalprovider selection 1518 with dropdown box 1502. In response,authentication box 1504 may prompt the consumer to login if required.Next, a listing of available and/or unused deal vouchers, as may bereceived from promotional server 106, may be presented to the consumer.In some embodiments, the listing of deal vouchers may include only dealvouchers applicable to the restaurant and/or selected menu items. Theconsumer may be allowed to purchase at deal voucher and/or apply apurchased deal voucher as a form of payment.

In some embodiments, upon successfully applying a deal voucher, onlineorder total 1518 may be updated to reflect a remaining balance that doesnot include any payments provided via deal voucher.

Returning to method 1400 shown in FIG. 14, if it is determined at 1406that the order is not to be charged to a plurality of consumers (e.g.,as specified by the consumer via payment account display 1500), method1400 may proceed to 1408. At 1408, the consumer may be charged for thefull amount, such as by using techniques similar to those discussedabove with respect to method 1300.

If it is determined at 1406 that the order is to be charged to aplurality of consumers, method 1400 may proceed to 1412. At 1421, anallocation of payment amounts among the plurality of consumers may bedetermined. For example, the allocation of payments may be specified bythe consumer at 1508 of payment account display 1500. Additionallyand/or alternatively, the consumer(s) may update an existing allocationof payments either online or through the merchant at the restaurant. Insome embodiments, the allocation of payments may be updated at any timebefore financial transactions are executed. For example, the consumermay decide to pay for half of the order by cash upon receiving the tab,and the remaining half can be charged via a one or more payment accountsas specified online. In another example, a first consumer may pay for aportion of the tab, while the remaining portion can be charged via oneor more payment accounts to other consumers, as specified online. At1414, the plurality of consumers may be charged according to theallocation of payment amounts. Method 1400 may end at 1410.

FIG. 16 shows an example of a method 1600 for managing a menu database,performed in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments,method 1600 may be performed with one or more servers (e.g., menu server1904, order server 1908, and/or one or more 3rd party systems 1714A)that provide management of the menu database (e.g., menu database 1902)as an online service to a merchant device. Alternatively and/oradditionally, method 1600 may be performed by the merchant device incommunication with the menu database (e.g., POS device 1806A with menudatabase 1802, as shown in FIG. 18).

Method 1600 may begin at 1602 and proceed to 1604. At 1604, the one ormore servers or merchant device may be configured to access menuinformation from the menu database indicating amounts of menu items thatare in stock. The menu database may be configured to support displayspresented by the merchant device (e.g., a POS device) in a restaurantand an online menu accessible by a consumer device. The consumer devicemay be remote from the restaurant, at the restaurant, and/or anywherewith internet or network connectivity.

At 1606, one or more menu items associated with an order may bereceived. The order may be an online order. For example, the one or moreservers may be configured to receive the menu items at any suitabletime, such as after the consumer has entered the online order, after thebeginning of food preparation, after the consumer has provided payment,etc. Additionally and/or alternatively, the order may be anin-restaurant order that may be entered by the merchant device (e.g., arestaurant device that is operated within the restaurant) asin-restaurant order data.

In some embodiments, menu items associated with a reservation may bereceived well in advance of the reservation. As such, a merchant may beable to better predict how much and what kind of inventory is needed fora given day based on the menu information in the menu database. Forexample, if a number of people order crab for the upcoming Friday, themerchant can order more crab and minimize the risk of running out.

At 1608, the menu information in the menu database may be updated basedon the order. As discussed above, the menu database may track an itemquantity associated with each menu item. Data indicating that a menuitem has been ordered, prepared, or otherwise removed from inventory,may be used to change the item quantity. For example, if the consumerorders 1 serving of Salmon Fillet as shown in FIG. 9, the item quantityof Salmon Fillet in the menu database may be decreased accordingly.

At 1610, a determination may be performed as to whether the menu item isout of stock and/or otherwise unavailable for online order. For example,the quantity of Salmon Fillet may drop to 0, which may indicate thatSalmon Fillet is out of stock. In another example, a menu item may beunavailable for online order once the quantity falls below a specifiedamount.

If the menu item is not out of stock and/or otherwise available fororder, method 1600 may proceed back to 1606, where the merchant devicemay receive additional menu items associated with the online order or adifferent online order.

If at 1610 the menu item is out of stock and/or otherwise unavailablefor online order, an out of stock or otherwise unavailable menu item maybe removed from the online menu at 1612. When appropriate, the menu itemmay also be removed from the POS menu. Furthermore, a notification maybe sent to the merchant, such as via notification display 106 shown inFIG. 1. In general, the menu items included in the online menu and/orthe displays presented by the POS device (e.g., POS menu 402 or quickserve display 600) may be updated in response to the menu informationfrom the menu database being updated. Method 1600 may then end at 1614.

FIG. 24 shows an example of a method 2400 for associating an onlineorder with a waitlist for a table at a restaurant, performed inaccordance with some embodiments. For example, in addition to, orinstead of, making an online reservation, the consumer may be allowed tojoin the waitlist for a table via the consumer device. A restaurant, forexample, may not take reservations, but instead seat people on afirst-come-first serve basis. Some embodiments may allow consumers toput their name on the list remotely. Additionally or alternatively, someembodiments may enable the consumer to enter an online order whilewaiting for a table. One or more machines, such as order server 1810and/or order server 1908, may be configured to perform method 2400.Additionally and/or alternatively, any other device (e.g., promotionalserver 1706, merchant systems 1710A-1710N, a merchant device, and 3rdparty systems 1714A-1714N) capable of communicating with the consumerdevice may also or instead be configured to perform some and/or all ofmethod 2400.

Method 2400 may begin at 2402 and proceed to 2404, where a waitlistindicating table wait times may be accessed. For example, waitlist datamay be stored in order database 1812 and/or 1906 that indicates statusof each table (e.g., available, seated, reserved, seating capacity,etc.). The waitlist may be accessed online, for example, by one or moreconsumer devices, and a corresponding waitlist display (not shown) maybe presented to the consumer.

At 2406, an entry may be added to the waitlist for a table based on arequest from a consumer device and/or a merchant device. For example, aconsumer device may be configured to display an interface that promptsthe consumer to enter a number of guests, table preferences, and/or anyother suitable waitlist data that may be useful to assign the table tothe consumer (and guests if applicable). Additionally and/oralternatively, the merchant device may be configured to allow a merchantto add the one or more consumers to the waitlist for the table, such aswhen the consumers arrive at the restaurant and request a table from themerchant. It is appreciated that, in some embodiments, the one or moreconsumers may be assigned to a type of table (e.g., booth, high top,waitlist table section, bar seating, etc.) based on the waitlist datarather than a particular table. For example, a party of five consumersmay be placed in the waitlist for any table that seats at least fiveconsumers as opposed to being assigned table 42 (which may be one of thetables that seats five consumers). In other embodiments, the consumerwho orders ahead may have the order automatically and/or manually (bythe consumer and/or merchant) associated with a particular table. Thetable association may be based on the consumer's profile (e.g., aconsumer may express a preference as to where to sit, such as near awindow or at the back of the restaurant), the available tables for aparticular time/day, the merchant's selection, and/or any othercriteria.

At 2408, an estimated seating time for the waitlisted table may be sentto the consumer device. For example, the one or more servers may includecircuitry configured to generate the estimated seating time for thetable based on how long the table (or any other suitable table) has beenoccupied, the number of guests at the table, the size of the waitlist,and/or any other factors that may be useful in providing the estimatedseating time. In some embodiments, the estimated seating time may bepushed to the consumer device to further provide an indication that theconsumer was successfully placed in the waitlist.

At 2410, a determination may be performed regarding whether an onlineorder has been received. For example, the consumer may enter the onlineorder with the consumer device as the consumer is waiting for the table.The consumer may use online menu display 900 shown in FIG. 9 to providethe online order. Additionally and/or alternatively, the consumer mayplace the online order prior to sending the request to be added to thewaitlist at 2406 (e.g., via the consumer device, either at therestaurant or remote from the restaurant). In some embodiments, theonline order (and/or online order data associated with the online order)may be further associated with the entry to the waitlist for the tableadded at 2406.

If the online order is received at 2410, method 2400 may proceed to2412. At 2412, a trigger condition to begin preparing the online ordermay be determined. A technique similar to the discussion above regardingmethod 1200 (e.g., at 1206) may be used. As such, the determination mayuse one or more factors including time-based factors, event-basedfactors, and/or one or more condition-based factors, as discussed above.Alternatively and/or additionally, the trigger condition may be based onthe estimated seating time. In some embodiments, the trigger conditionmay be set so that preparation of the online order may begin when thetable is nearly ready. In that sense, the trigger condition may befurther based on how long each menu item in the online order takes toprepare. At 2414, preparation of the online order may begin (e.g., uponsatisfaction of the trigger condition). The discussion above regardingmethod 1200 (e.g., steps 1220 and/or 1224) may be applicable at 2414, inaccordance with some embodiments.

Returning to 2410, if the online order is not received, method 2400 mayproceed to 2416. At 2416, a determination may be made as to whether thetable has become available. For example, the one or more servers mayaccess the waitlist indicating table wait times as discussed at 2404. Ifthe table is not available, method 2400 may return to 2408, where theestimated seating time is sent to the consumer device.

If the table is available, method 2400 may proceed to 2418, where anindication that the table (or any other suitable table) is available maybe sent to the consumer device. In some embodiments, the one or moreservers may poll or otherwise receive waitlist data updates from theorder database 1812 and/or 1906. As such, the indication that the tableis available may be efficiently provided to the consumer device suchthat the table may be seated without needless delay. Method 2400 maythen end at 2420.

FIG. 17 shows system 1700 including an example network architecture,which may include one or more devices and sub-systems that areconfigured to implement some embodiments discussed herein. For example,system 1700 may include promotional system 1702, which can include, forexample, promotional server 1704 and promotional database 1706, amongother things (not shown). Promotional server 1702 may be any suitablenetwork server and/or other type of processing device. Promotionaldatabase 1706 may be any suitable network database configured to storemerchant and consumer data, deal offering data, deal voucher data,transaction data and/or redemption data, such as may be used tofacilitate payment with a deal voucher or promotional account asdiscussed herein. In this regard, system 1702 may include, for example,at least one backend data server, network database, cloud computingdevice, among other things.

Promotional system 1702 can be coupled to one or more merchant systems1710A-1710N via network 1708. In this regard, network 1708 may includeany wired or wireless communication network including, for example, awired or wireless local area network (LAN), personal area network (PAN),metropolitan area network (MAN), wide area network (WAN), or the like,as well as any hardware, software and/or firmware required to implementit (such as, e.g., network routers, etc.). For example, network 1708 mayinclude a cellular telephone, an 802.11, 802.16, 802.20, and/or WiMaxnetwork. Further, the network 1708 may include a public network, such asthe Internet, a private network, such as an intranet, or combinationsthereof, and may utilize a variety of networking protocols now availableor later developed including, but not limited to TCP/IP based networkingprotocols.

Merchant systems 1710A-1710N may each be associated with a merchant,such as a restaurant. The depiction in FIG. 17 of “N” merchants ismerely for illustration purposes. FIG. 18 shows an example merchantsystem 1800 that may include menu database 1802, ordering system 1804,POS system 1806, and kitchen system 1808. As used herein, any device ofmerchant system 1800 may be referred to as a “merchant device.” Menudatabase 1802 may be configured to store menu items and/or menuinformation. In some embodiments, data stored in menu database 1802 maybe used to generate an online menu (e.g., online menu display 900 shownin FIG. 9) and/or a POS menu (e.g., POS menu 402 shown in FIG. 4 and/orquick serve menu 602 shown in FIG. 6). Furthermore, menu database 1802may updated or otherwise managed via the merchant device.

Ordering system 1804 may include order server 1810 and order database1812. In some embodiments, order server 18010 may be configured toprovide an online menu (e.g., online menu 900) to a consumer device(e.g., consumer device 1714 shown in FIG. 17). As discussed above, theonline menu may be based on data stored in menu database 1802. Orderserver 1810 may further be configured to receive online orders from theconsumer device, process the online order as discussed herein, andcommunicate the online orders to POS system 1806. In some embodiments,online orders and associated data (e.g., reservation times, number ofguests, etc.) may be stored in order database 1812 for later retrieval.

POS system 1806 may include one or more POS devices 1806A-1806N. EachPOS device 1806A-1806N may include a personal computer and/or othernetworked device, such as a cellular phone, tablet computer, mobiledevice, etc., that may be used for any suitable purpose in addition toproviding point-of-sale functionality at the restaurant. Accordingly,the displays 100-700 may be provided to a merchant by a POS device. Asdiscussed above, the POS menu may be based on data stored in menudatabase 1802.

Kitchen system 1808 may include a computing device (not shown), one ormore ticket printers 1814 and one or more display devices 1816. Kitchensystem 1808 may be connected with the POS system such that order data,whether entered online or by the merchant via a POS device, may be sentto kitchen system 1808. In some embodiments, the computing device mayprocess menu items and send each menu item to an appropriate ticketprinter 1814 and/or display device 1816 to direct the kitchen staff, asdiscussed above with respect to method 1200. In some embodiments, POSsystem 1806 may be configured to directly send menu items to anappropriate ticket printer or display device.

System 1700 may further include one or more 3rd party systems1714A-1714N, among other things. In some embodiments, different 3rdparty system 1714A-1714N may be associated with different types ofpayment accounts. As discussed above with reference to FIGS. 13-15, anorder may be associated with a plurality of payment accounts. Thus foreach provided payment account, data may be sent to an appropriate thirdparty system (e.g., a credit card transaction server, etc.).

In some embodiments, the ordering system and/or menu database may beseparate from merchant systems 1710A-1710N. FIG. 19 shows a promotionalsystem 1900 configured to include the menu database (e.g., menu database1902) and/or the ordering system (e.g., ordering system 1904), inaddition to promotional server 1910 and promotional database 1912.Promotional system 1900 may be configured to provide the online orderingfunctionality (e.g., the displays of FIGS. 9 and 15) to consumerdevices, and/or provide POS functionality to merchant devices (e.g., thedisplays of FIGS. 1-7) via order server 1908. Order server 1908 may beconfigured to provide menu information by accessing menu database 1902.In some embodiments, promotional system 1900 may further include menuserver 1914 configured to provide menu management functionality (e.g.,menu manager display 700) to the merchant devices.

In some embodiments, the promotional system 1900 may be a multi-tenantdatabase system configured to provide integrated POS, menu managementand/or online ordering capability for a plurality of merchant systems1710A-1710N. Additionally and/or alternatively, promotional system 1900may be configured to provide online menus to consumer device 1712 toprovide online ordering, reservation and/or payment functionality.

It is appreciated that the menu database, menu server, and/or orderingsystem may be maintained by one or more of a promotional system (e.g.promotional system 1900 shown in FIG. 9), a payment processing system, ascheduling system, and/or any other type of cloud-based system. As such,the functionality described herein (e.g., methods 800, 1000-1400, 1600and 2400) may be provided to merchant devices and/or consumer devices asonline services from one or more servers.

FIG. 20 shows a schematic block diagram of circuitry 2000, some or allof which may be included in, for example, promotional system 1702 or1900, consumer device 1712, and/or merchant systems 1710A-2410N. Asillustrated in FIG. 20, in accordance with some example embodiments,circuitry 2000 may include various means, such as one or more processors2002, memories 2004, communications modules 2006, and/or input/outputmodules 2008.

In some embodiments, such as when circuitry 2000 is included in merchantsystems 1710A-2410N and/or promotional system 1702 or 1900,payment/redemption module 1710 may also or instead be included. Asreferred to herein, “module” includes hardware, software and/or firmwareconfigured to perform one or more particular functions. In this regard,the means of circuitry 2000 as described herein may be embodied as, forexample, circuitry, hardware elements (e.g., a suitably programmedprocessor, combinational logic circuit, and/or the like), a computerprogram product comprising computer-readable program instructions storedon a non-transitory computer-readable medium (e.g., memory 2004) that isexecutable by a suitably configured processing device (e.g., processor2002), or some combination thereof.

Processor 2002 may, for example, be embodied as various means includingone or more microprocessors with accompanying digital signalprocessor(s), one or more processor(s) without an accompanying digitalsignal processor, one or more coprocessors, one or more multi-coreprocessors, one or more controllers, processing circuitry, one or morecomputers, various other processing elements including integratedcircuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integratedcircuit) or FPGA (field programmable gate array), or some combinationthereof. Accordingly, although illustrated in FIG. 20 as a singleprocessor, in some embodiments, processor 2002 comprises a plurality ofprocessors. The plurality of processors may be embodied on a singlecomputing device or may be distributed across a plurality of computingdevices collectively configured to function as circuitry 2000. Theplurality of processors may be in operative communication with eachother and may be collectively configured to perform one or morefunctionalities of circuitry 2000 as described herein. In an exampleembodiment, processor 2002 is configured to execute instructions storedin memory 2004 or otherwise accessible to processor 2002. Theseinstructions, when executed by processor 2002, may cause circuitry 2000to perform one or more of the functionalities of circuitry 2000 asdescribed herein.

Whether configured by hardware, firmware/software methods, or by acombination thereof, processor 2002 may comprise an entity capable ofperforming operations according to embodiments of the present inventionwhile configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when processor 2002 isembodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, processor 2002 may comprisespecifically configured hardware for conducting one or more operationsdescribed herein. As another example, when processor 2002 is embodied asan executor of instructions, such as may be stored in memory 2004, theinstructions may specifically configure processor 2002 to perform one ormore algorithms and operations described herein, such as those discussedin connection with FIGS. 8, 10-14 and 16.

Memory 2004 may comprise, for example, volatile memory, non-volatilememory, or some combination thereof. Although illustrated in FIG. 20 asa single memory, memory 2004 may comprise a plurality of memorycomponents. The plurality of memory components may be embodied on asingle computing device or distributed across a plurality of computingdevices. In various embodiments, memory 2004 may comprise, for example,a hard disk, random access memory, cache memory, flash memory, a compactdisc read only memory (CD-ROM), digital versatile disc read only memory(DVD-ROM), an optical disc, circuitry configured to store information,or some combination thereof. Memory 2004 may be configured to storeinformation, data (including deal parameter data and/or analytics data),applications, instructions, or the like for enabling circuitry 2000 tocarry out various functions in accordance with example embodiments ofthe present invention. For example, in at least some embodiments, memory2004 is configured to buffer input data for processing by processor2002. Additionally or alternatively, in at least some embodiments,memory 2004 is configured to store program instructions for execution byprocessor 2002. Memory 2004 may store information in the form of staticand/or dynamic information. This stored information may be stored and/orused by circuitry 2000 during the course of performing itsfunctionalities.

Communications module 2006 may be embodied as any device or meansembodied in circuitry, hardware, a computer program product comprisingcomputer readable program instructions stored on a computer readablemedium (e.g., memory 2004) and executed by a processing device (e.g.,processor 2002), or a combination thereof that is configured to receiveand/or transmit data from/to another device, such as, for example, asecond circuitry 2000 and/or the like. In some embodiments,communications module 2006 (like other components discussed herein) canbe at least partially embodied as or otherwise controlled by processor2002. In this regard, communications module 2006 may be in communicationwith processor 2002, such as via a bus. Communications module 2006 mayinclude, for example, an antenna, a transmitter, a receiver, atransceiver, network interface card and/or supporting hardware and/orfirmware/software for enabling communications with another computingdevice. Communications module 2006 may be configured to receive and/ortransmit any data that may be stored by memory 2004 using any protocolthat may be used for communications between computing devices.Communications module 2006 may additionally or alternatively be incommunication with the memory 2004, input/output module 2008 and/or anyother component of circuitry 2000, such as via a bus.

Input/output module 2008 may be in communication with processor 2002 toreceive an indication of a user input and/or to provide an audible,visual, mechanical, or other output to a user (e.g., merchant and/orconsumer). Some example visual outputs that may be provided to a user bycircuitry 2000 are discussed in connection with FIGS. 1-7, 9 and 15. Assuch, input/output module 2008 may include support, for example, for akeyboard, a mouse, a joystick, a display, a touch screen display, amicrophone, a speaker, a RFID reader, barcode reader, biometric scanner,and/or other input/output mechanisms. In embodiments wherein circuitry2000 is embodied as a server or database, aspects of input/output module2008 may be reduced as compared to embodiments where circuitry 2000 isimplemented as an end-user machine (e.g., consumer device and/ormerchant device) or other type of device designed for complex userinteractions. In some embodiments (like other components discussedherein), input/output module 2008 may even be eliminated from circuitry2000. Alternatively, such as in embodiments wherein circuitry 2000 isembodied as a server or database, at least some aspects of input/outputmodule 2008 may be embodied on an apparatus used by a user that is incommunication with circuitry 2000, such as for example, POS devices1806A-1806N and/or consumer device 1712. Input/output module 2008 may bein communication with the memory 2004, communications module 2006,and/or any other component(s), such as via a bus. Although more than oneinput/output module and/or other component can be included in circuitry2000, only one is shown in FIG. 20 to avoid overcomplicating the drawing(like the other components discussed herein).

Payment/redemption module 2010 may also or instead be included andconfigured to perform the functionality discussed herein related tofacilitating payment transactions and redemption of deal vouchersdiscussed above. In some embodiments, some or all of the functionalityfacilitating payment transactions and redemption of deal vouchers may beperformed by processor 2002. In this regard, the example processes andalgorithms discussed herein can be performed by at least one processor2002 and/or payment/redemption module 2010. For example, non-transitorycomputer readable storage media can be configured to store firmware, oneor more application programs, and/or other software, which includeinstructions and other computer-readable program code portions that canbe executed to control each processor (e.g., processor 2002 and/orpayment/redemption module 2010) of the components of system 1700 toimplement various operations, including the examples shown above. Assuch, a series of computer-readable program code portions are embodiedin one or more computer program products and can be used, with acomputing device, server, and/or other programmable apparatus, toproduce machine-implemented processes.

As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions and/orother type of code may be loaded onto a computer, processor or otherprogrammable apparatus's circuitry to produce a machine, such that thecomputer, processor other programmable circuitry that execute the codeon the machine create the means for implementing various functions,including those described herein.

It is also noted that all or some of the information presented by theexample displays discussed herein can be based on data that is received,generated and/or maintained by one or more components of system 1700. Insome embodiments, one or more external systems (such as a remote cloudcomputing and/or data storage system) may also be leveraged to provideat least some of the functionality discussed herein.

FIGS. 21 and 22 provide some examples of data that may be stored in oneor databases (e.g., promotional database 1704 and/or databases within3rd party systems 1714A-1714N shown in FIG. 17) to facilitate paymenttransactions and redemption of deal vouchers in accordance with someexample embodiments discussed herein. It should be noted the data fieldsillustrated are exemplary and that the embodiments of the invention arenot limited to the fields illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22, and that theembodiments of the invention may contain more or fewer fields than thoseillustrated.

FIG. 23 provides some examples of data that may be stored in one or moremenu databases, such as menu database 1802, to provide data that may beused to generate online menus and POS menus. It is appreciated that thedata fields illustrated are exemplary and that the embodiments of theinvention are not limited to the fields illustrated in FIG. 23, and thatthe embodiments of the invention may contain more or fewer fields thanthose illustrated.

As described above and as will be appreciated based on this disclosure,embodiments of the present invention may be configured as methods,mobile devices, backend network devices, and the like. Accordingly,embodiments may comprise various means including entirely of hardware orany combination of software and hardware. Furthermore, embodiments maytake the form of a computer program product on at least onenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer-readableprogram instructions (e.g., computer software) embodied in the storagemedium. Any suitable computer-readable storage medium may be utilizedincluding non-transitory hard disks, CD-ROMs, flash memory, opticalstorage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described above withreference to block diagrams and flowchart illustrations of methods,apparatuses, systems and computer program products. It will beunderstood that each block of the circuit diagrams and processflowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the circuit diagrams andprocess flowcharts, respectively, can be implemented by various meansincluding computer program instructions. These computer programinstructions may be loaded onto a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, suchas processor 2502 and/or deal payment/redemption module 2510 discussedabove with reference to FIG. 25, to produce a machine, such that thecomputer program product includes the instructions which execute on thecomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus create a meansfor implementing the functions specified in the flowchart block orblocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium (e.g., memory 2504) that can direct acomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function ina particular manner, such that the instructions stored in thecomputer-readable storage medium produce an article of manufactureincluding computer-readable instructions for implementing the functiondiscussed herein. The computer program instructions may also be loadedonto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to causea series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or otherprogrammable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process suchthat the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmableapparatus provide steps for implementing the functions discussed herein.

Accordingly, blocks of the block diagrams and flowchart illustrationssupport combinations of means for performing the specified functions,combinations of steps for performing the specified functions and programinstruction means for performing the specified functions. It will alsobe understood that each block of the circuit diagrams and processflowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the circuit diagrams andprocess flowcharts, can be implemented by special purpose hardware-basedcomputer systems that perform the specified functions or steps, orcombinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the inventions set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which theseembodiments of the invention pertain having the benefit of the teachingspresented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings.Thus it is appreciated that the techniques for providing online orderingmay be integrated with a scheduler/online reservation system that may beused by any type of merchant having any type of “brick-and-mortar” shop(that is, in addition to, or instead of, restaurant merchants). Forexample, the menu items discussed herein may be applicable to othertypes of goods or services. A salon may update a database includingbeauty products that may be purchased online via a consumer device or ata merchant device (e.g., at the salon). The consumer device may furtherschedule an appointment (e.g., make a reservation) in which the beautyproducts that are purchased online are used during the appointment. Inanother example, a retailer may provide products for online ordering andallow consumers devices to schedule an appointment to learn how to useproducts purchased online (e.g., a cellular phone or computing devicefor technology retailers) at the store.

Therefore, it is to be understood that the embodiments of the inventionare not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and thatmodifications and other embodiments are intended to be included withinthe scope of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employedherein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and notfor purposes of limitation.

1-50. (canceled)
 51. An apparatus configured to facilitate contactlessordering and purchasing of menu items from a merchant comprising atleast one processor and at least one non-transitory memory comprisingprogram code, wherein the at least one non-transitory memory and theprogram code are configured to, with the at least one processor, causethe apparatus to: determine a consumer device present status associatedwith a consumer device; access menu information in a menu database,wherein the menu information indicates a menu item quantity associatedwith each of a plurality of menu items stored to the menu database;determine a first subset of the plurality of menu items based at leastin part on the menu information, wherein the menu item quantityassociated with each menu item in the first subset of the plurality ofmenu items satisfies a predetermined threshold; generate apresence-based menu, wherein the presence-based menu comprises a listingof the first subset of plurality of menu items; provide thepresence-based menu to the consumer device via a network; receivepresence-based order data associated with a presence-based order, thepresence-based order data indicating a selection of at least one menuitem by a consumer associated with the consumer device; and facilitate apurchase of the at least one menu item associated with thepresence-based order.
 52. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein theapparatus is further configured to apply an automated optimization tothe listing of the first subset of plurality of menu items in thepresence-based menu to generate a display ranking of the menu itemsbased on a consumer purchase prediction for each of the menu items,wherein the automated optimization is performed based on order trackingdata stored in the menu database.
 53. The apparatus of claim 52, whereineach consumer purchase prediction for a menu item of the listing of thefirst subset of plurality of menu items in the presence-based menu isdetermined based on a predicted behavior of the consumer associated withthe consumer device, and wherein the predicted behavior of the consumeris determined based on the order tracking data.
 54. The apparatus ofclaim 51, wherein determining the consumer device present statusassociated with the consumer device is based on a location tracking ofthe consumer device.
 55. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein determiningthe consumer device present status associated with the consumer deviceis based on the consumer device forming a proximity-based connectionwith a merchant device associated with the merchant.
 56. The apparatusof claim 51, wherein providing the presence-based menu to the consumerdevice via the network comprises outputting the presence-based menu to adisplay of the consumer device.
 57. The apparatus of claim 56, whereinthe consumer device is a mobile device comprising a touch-screen visualdisplay.
 58. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein facilitating thepurchase of the at least one menu item associated with thepresence-based order comprises obtaining payment account information viathe network from the consumer device.
 59. The apparatus of claim 51,wherein facilitating the purchase of the at least one menu itemassociated with the presence-based order comprises: determining whetherthe consumer is associated with a payment account suitable for afinancial transaction to facilitate the purchase; upon determinationthat the consumer is associated with a payment account suitable for thefinancial transaction, determining that the consumer authorizedapplication of charges to the payment account; and cause charging to thepayment account for the purchase of the at least one menu itemassociated with the presence-based order.
 60. The apparatus of claim 59,wherein determining that the consumer authorized application of chargesto the payment account comprises sending an electronic tab associatedwith the presence-based order via the network to the consumer device andreceiving authorization via the network from the consumer device. 61.The apparatus of claim 59, wherein determining that the consumerauthorized application of charges to the payment account comprisesaccessing a preauthorization associated with the presence-based ordervia the network.
 62. The apparatus of claim 51, wherein thepresence-based order data associated with the presence-based order isreceived via the network.
 63. The apparatus of claim 62, furtherconfigured to: in response to receiving the presence-based order data,provide the presence-based order data via the network to a merchantdevice associated with the merchant.
 64. The apparatus of claim 51,further configured to update the menu item quantity associated with theat least one menu item in the menu database.
 65. The apparatus of claim51, wherein the merchant is a restaurant and the apparatus is furtherconfigured to: access a waitlist associated with the restaurantindicating table wait times; add an entry to the waitlist for a tablebased on a request received from the consumer device; send an estimatedseating time for the table to the consumer device; associate thepresence-based order data with the entry to the waitlist; and send anindication that the table is available to the consumer device.
 66. Theapparatus of claim 65, further configured to associate a triggercondition with the estimated seating time, the trigger conditionassociated with a notification to a merchant device associated with therestaurant to begin preparation of the at least one menu item of thepresence-based order.
 67. The apparatus of claim 51, further configuredto update, in real-time or near real-time, the presence-based menu basedat least in part on a change in the menu item quantity associated withat least one menu item in the first subset of the plurality of menuitems.
 68. A method for facilitating contactless ordering and purchasingof menu items from a merchant: determining a consumer device presentstatus associated with a consumer device; accessing menu information ina menu database, wherein the menu information indicates a menu itemquantity associated with each of a plurality of menu items stored to themenu database; determining a first subset of the plurality of menu itemsbased at least in part on the menu information, wherein the menu itemquantity associated with each menu item in the first subset of theplurality of menu items satisfies a predetermined threshold; generatinga presence-based menu, wherein the presence-based menu comprises alisting of the first subset of plurality of menu items; providing thepresence-based menu to the consumer device via a network; receivingpresence-based order data associated with a presence-based order, thepresence-based order data indicating a selection of at least one menuitem by a consumer associated with the consumer device; and facilitatinga purchase of the at least one menu item associated with thepresence-based order.
 69. The method of claim 68, wherein determiningthe consumer device present status associated with the consumer deviceis based on the consumer device forming a proximity-based connectionwith a merchant device associated with the merchant.
 70. The method ofclaim 68, wherein providing the presence-based menu to the consumerdevice via the network comprises outputting the presence-based menu to atouch-screen visual display of the consumer device.